Trent Rockets secured a convincing victory over Welsh Fire, handing the visitors their inaugural defeat of the season in The Hundred during a dominant display at Sophia Gardens. The chase was comfortably achieved, with the Rockets surpassing a modest target of 123 runs with 28 balls remaining, thanks largely to an unbeaten 52 from Ben Duckett. The opening phase of the Rockets' pursuit was anything but smooth, but the Fire bowlers compounded their woes by delivering a series of errant deliveries, conceding four free‑hits in the powerplay and a total of seven throughout their spell. Duckett, who opened the innings, managed only a single boundary in his first four balls, yet he and fellow opener Finn Allen (who contributed 33) steadied the ship and pushed the score to 42‑0 after 25 deliveries, showing little sign of panic.
Allen soon turned the momentum in his favour, unleashing an aggressive assault that yielded 17 runs off Sam Cook's first five balls. The pair continued to dominate a lacklustre Fire attack, cruising to 75 runs before Allen was dismissed leg‑before‑wicket by fellow New Zealander Rachin Ravindra for 33.
Undeterred, Duckett, now joined by Tom Banton (who added 31), pressed on. Duckett reached his second consecutive half‑century, this time from just 42 balls, guiding the Rockets to a second win from three matches and propelling them up to second place in the standings. Welsh Fire, who had been asked to bat first, stumbled early, ending their powerplay at 26‑2. Their early wickets fell when Phil Salt and England captain Joe Root were each dismissed for five runs, the latter falling to the seam of Matt Henry (2‑16).
After reaching 59‑2 at the halfway mark, the Fire attempted to rebuild but lost three wickets in the next 14 balls, including the well‑set Matt Short, who was out for 36 off 26 balls. Jordan Cox (33) attempted to revive the innings by hammering three consecutive sixes off Mitchell Santner's left‑arm spin, only to be caught spectacularly on the cover boundary by a diving Allen while attempting a fourth. The Fire eventually limped to 122‑7, with Asa Tribe (13 not out) and Chris Woakes (4 not out) unable to find the boundary against the disciplined bowling of Mohammad Amir and Lewis Gregory in the final overs. The target proved far too low for the Rockets, who comfortably chased it down and moved to second place in the table with two wins from three games.
Match Hero Ben Duckett reflected on the win, saying, "The bowlers were superb. We talked about adapting to the pitch early on, and they deserved huge credit for this victory.
My plan was to get through the powerplay, and it became easier once Finn Allen was at the other end smashing the ball. The four free‑hits really helped, although I struggled to find my rhythm for much of the innings. Finn played beautifully and Banton relieved the pressure on me." In a separate fixture, 20‑year‑old Lhuan‑dre Pretorius lit up the competition for London Spirit, blasting 64 runs off just 28 balls to steer his side to a seven‑wicket triumph over MI London in a fiercely contested London derby. Chasing 165, Pretorius and Jonny Bairstow exploded from the outset, with Pretorius dispatching Trent Boult for a towering six that travelled an estimated 106 metres over mid‑wicket.
The opening partnership raced to 50 in just 18 balls and closed the powerplay at 61‑0, effectively dismantling the opposition's early plans. Bairstow fell for 23 off 12 balls, but Pretorius continued his on‑fire display, reaching his first Hundred half‑century in just 23 deliveries and striking the boundary seven times.
He was eventually dismissed by Boult when the score stood at 101, just before the halfway point of the Spirit innings, but the damage was already done. Dewald Brevis added a rapid 37 not out from 18 balls, ensuring the Spirit secured their first win of the season with 11 balls to spare.
MI London’s innings had not begun as explosively. Will Jacks (65) and James Vince (26) faced disciplined bowling from David Willey (0‑22) and Adam Milne (0‑21), managing only 28‑0 at the close of the powerplay.
Their patience paid off as they accelerated against Adam Zampa and Andrew Tye, with Jacks reaching his own half‑century from 30 balls. However, the tide turned when Vince was caught for 26 and Jamie Overton (3‑30) removed both Jacks and newcomer Nicholas Pooran in quick succession. Jacks eventually departed for a handsome 65 off 44 balls, becoming the highest run‑scorer in the history of the men's Hundred competition. Overton kept the pressure on, dismissing Jason Roy (caught behind on review) as the MI London side, missing skipper Sam Curran due to a precautionary muscle issue, tried to recover.
Late aggression from Sherfane Rutherford pushed MI London past the 160‑run mark, but his 41 off 19 balls could not prevent the Spirit’s chase, which was anchored by Pretorius’s powerful hitting. Pretorius, named the Meerkat Match Hero, praised his preparation, stating, "I'm glad we got over the line. It feels great to start the season with a win and I hope we can maintain this momentum. I spent some time at training yesterday working with DK (batting coach Dinesh Karthik) on that short‑fine and fine‑leg shot, and it paid off, even though it got me out eventually.
I'm happy to have contributed to the team's victory." Looking ahead, Southern Brave will host Birmingham Phoenix on Thursday, with the women's match slated for 3 pm and the men's game following at 6:30 pm, both broadcast live on Sky Sports. Fans can also stream The Hundred and other sports content on NOW, while keeping up with the latest tables, squad updates for 2026, and news across the competition.